03-01-2008, 09:02 PM
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Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: AZ - but it's a dry heat!
Posts: 181
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Jeff;
Give me a PM/Email when you're cruzing through and maybe we can compare Alfa's. Mine's got 100,400 miles but still kick's it out.
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03-01-2008, 09:12 PM
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Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Gifu, Japan
Posts: 1,137
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Jeff,
Congrats on your purchase!! Any chance you would be driving through Pueblo? Let me know if you have time to have a lunch or a dinner with me. You'll love your car even more when you park that beauty right next to my ratty '91  BTW, I'd wait till April or May to use 20W50 here in Colorado. I use 10W40 in my '91 from November to March every year.
You'll enjoy your Spider, especially on a day like today (the high here was 79F, and it's 59F as of 9PM. I had my top down all day long)!!
__________________
[SIZE="3"][B][FONT="Arial"]Taiga [I]"Tiger"[/I] Inoue[/FONT][/B][/SIZE]
1991 Spider Veloce/1967 Sprint GTV (in Japan  )/1970 300SEL 6.3 (in Japan too  )
My mother owns 25 alfas 
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03-01-2008, 09:30 PM
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Registered User
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Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: AZ - but it's a dry heat!
Posts: 181
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 Quote:
Originally Posted by Tifosi
Oh, to add to the 'take along' list:
I'm of the firm belief that at any given time or place, there is very likely someone who may need to be shot at.
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03-01-2008, 09:54 PM
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Senior Member
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Join Date: Oct 2007
Posts: 429
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Congrats. Looks like holding out for a better car paid big dividends. Really beautiful car. Take spare fan belt, can get at NAPA or Genuine Parts and it will be a Gates which can't be beat. Take a 12 volt electrical probe which is really cheap anywhere automotive. Philips and straight slot screwdrivers and 2 sets of metric combination wrenches open and box end. 10, 12, 13, 14, and 17 are the most useful sizes of metric wrenches, but don't forget 2 adjustable do alls. As previously stated spare bulbs for tail lights and directionals. Flashlight is a must. Find out in advance if it has a useable spare and ALL the jacking equipment. No need to take a spare thermostat, if it fails you can temporarily remove it entirely just to get home. Tennis or running shoes, NOT a pair of boots (really dumb move on my part). Four leaf clover. It needs highest grade of precious gasoline, so be prepared to shell out some $$ for the fuel.
I picked up my 88 Veloce after a brief inspection and drove it 900 miles home without incident. I did have to buy a new battery, tail lamp bulbs, and flashlight enroute. I ended up using all of these. I took a pretty good set of tools in a fabric bag which I carried up to Maryland with me. I also bought a Gates fan belt enroute but never needed it. Kept the speed down and eyes and ears open. First 200 miles I was super tuned to anything unfamiliar, but the Alfa did a beautiful job on its part and had no incidents other than replacing bulbs and watching the gauges with a flashlight as the dash lights are inop.
Best Wishes, Robert 88 Spider Veloce in Memhis TN
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03-01-2008, 09:58 PM
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Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Denver Co
Posts: 435
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Luckily the car has brand new battery and tires! I think the odometer/speedometer just stopped working but thats really no big deal to me. Im going to walk into centerline here in CO this week and pick up some extra parts - youre right about the thermostat though - I can just take it out if I HAVE TO - of course then I dont get any heat in the cabin right? I think Im going to need heat when I start to climb in altitude!
Gas should be interesting. Its on cali funky 91. And when it makes it back to Denver it will only get 91 as well since thats all we get! Really sucks as my STi loves higher octane gas!!
Jeff |
03-01-2008, 10:12 PM
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Senior Member
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Join Date: Oct 2007
Posts: 429
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True about the thermostat but stuck thermostats are more of a thing of the past than the present. The old bellows thermostats failed guite often due to flex fractures. But thermostats are now wax pellet type and designed to fail "OPEN". That being said, I have seen a wax pellet thermostat fail closed, so there are exceptions to every rule. In a pinch you can cut out the flapper plate and re-install the thermostat housing to provide some restriction.
I used 91 octane fuel in MD, VA, and accross the entier state of TN without incident.
Robert
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03-01-2008, 10:21 PM
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Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Denver Co
Posts: 435
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Wow just realized its going to be an 1800 mile trip! What a way to get to know your car!
Im planning to start out Sunday the 9th from SF to Santa Barbara - 337 miles, then Monday morning driving from SB to Phoenix - 467 miles. Then Tuesday morning take off and driving the 911 miles from Phoenix to Denver! Everyone keep your fingers crossed for me yiiiikes!
Thanks
Jeff
Last edited by sgtpeper; 03-01-2008 at 10:26 PM.
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03-01-2008, 10:30 PM
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Senior Member
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Join Date: Oct 2007
Posts: 429
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By 1800 miles I assume you are talking out and back. On the way out you will be flying so you don't need to worry about tools and spares. If the aircraft failes you won"t have time to get out and fix anything. It looks like your return trip in the Alfa will be the same as mine - 900 miles. Hope you have as successful a trip as I did.
Robert
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03-01-2008, 10:38 PM
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Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Denver Co
Posts: 435
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Nope 1800 miles one way by car! If you add up those legs of the trip it will be 1711 miles total that Ill be covering in a fairly short period of time!
Jeff
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03-02-2008, 12:26 AM
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(Un)protected species
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Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: Offline
Posts: 1,371
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sgtpeper
- youre right about the thermostat though - I can just take it out if I HAVE TO - of course then I dont get any heat in the cabin right? I think Im going to need heat when I start to climb in altitude!
Jeff
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If you're worried about the cold, bring a lap robe. And keep the top down, you don't want anybody seeing that funky faded thing on an otherwise beautiful Spider, right?
__________________
I'd rather be in an Alfa praying to God that we'll make it home, than sitting in a church thinking about my Alfa.
Gordy Hyde
1974 Spider 2000 ~ "Mia" (Carb-free)
1971 Junior Zagato 1750 (1800605) ~ "Zach"
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03-02-2008, 05:59 AM
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Senior Member
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Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Mebane, NC
Posts: 3,473
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Unless modified (high compression pistons), S3 Spiders (82-89) do not need high octane gasoline. There is/has been some confusion because there are two methods of rating gasoline's octane.
If one reads a European Owner's Manual it will likely call for "91 Octane" but that refers to 91 PON. In the US we use PON + MON / 2. "...this means that the octane in the United States will be about 4 to 5 points lower than the same fuel elsewhere: 87 octane fuel, the "regular" gasoline in the US and Canada, would be 91-92 in Europe." |
03-02-2008, 06:41 AM
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Slacker
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Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Northern NY, USA
Posts: 6,485
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ghnl
If one reads a European Owner's Manual it will likely call for "91 Octane" but that refers to 91 PON. In the US we use PON + MON / 2
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Not PON (pump octane number), but RON (research octane number) for Euro type fuel stuff.
RON+MON/2=PON
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03-02-2008, 07:34 AM
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Senior Member
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Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Mebane, NC
Posts: 3,473
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I sit corrected...
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03-02-2008, 09:59 AM
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Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Europe
Posts: 200
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sgtpeper
Nope 1800 miles one way by car! If you add up those legs of the trip it will be 1711 miles total that Ill be covering in a fairly short period of time!
Jeff
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03-02-2008, 10:23 AM
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Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Denmark
Posts: 380
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Have a nice trip
Congrats, that Spider looks very shart, original.
Only thing, a part from other good advise you've got, get some sort of recovery insurence.
You'll be fine for the trip. It's a real trill to do a nice long first trip in a "new" Spider.
Good luck and better sent a deposit on the car to the sellers.
Erik
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'84 manufacture ~ '85 MY Spider Graduate 